The role of BRICS in the global community continues to grow. By the end of 2025, few would doubt that this role is increasingly coordinating and consolidating the position of Global South countries. According to a number of experts, the main and most significant outcome of Brazil’s 2025 BRICS Chairmanship was the process of forming common approaches. In a period of rapid transformation of the world order, this is one of the most important tasks.

“Brazil’s Chairmanship of BRICS in 2025 allowed significant results to be achieved, successfully shifting the group from rapid expansion to strategic institutionalisation. Operating under the motto ‘Strengthening Global South Cooperation for a More Inclusive and Sustainable Governance’, the administration of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva achieved concrete outcomes in various areas,” said Professor Daniel Barreiros of the Institute of Economics, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, in an exclusive interview with TV BRICS.

During Brazil’s chairmanship, the member countries managed to agree and form a common position on a wide range of issues: from the development of cross-border payment systems to combating the consequences of climate change and global governance of artificial intelligence. However, the path to common approaches was not without challenges, some of which still need to be addressed.

Climate agenda

Brazil, as BRICS chair, focused on strengthening cooperation in social, economic and environmental spheres, says Associate Professor Mikhail Khachaturyan of the Department of Strategic and Innovative Development of Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, in an exclusive interview with TV BRICS. One of the most significant outcomes, he notes, is the BRICS Leaders’ Framework Declaration on Climate Finance. This document is also highlighted by other experts. The initiative aims to increase funding for climate change mitigation in developing countries by US$1.3 trillion. Primarily, these funds will be allocated to the development and implementation of environmental projects and programmes in developing countries in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Mikhail Khachaturyan notes. Yet the most important achievement is not just the funding itself, but that BRICS countries managed to reach an agreement on climate issues.

“These decisions de facto distinguish the positions of BRICS countries from the consolidated platform of developed countries, which cannot reach consensus on climate matters,” emphasises Victoria Perskaya, Director of the Institute for International Economic Relations Studies of Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, in an interview with TV BRICS.

At the same time, BRICS states stress that developed countries bear responsibility for adopting a more balanced position in achieving the goals of the UN Sustainable Development climate agenda.

Artificial intelligence

Another equally important issue on which BRICS countries managed to agree during Brazil’s chairmanship is the development and implementation of artificial intelligence projects. The main positions on AI are set out in the BRICS Leaders’ Declaration on Global Governance of Artificial Intelligence. “Global governance of AI must mitigate potential risks and meet the needs of all countries, particularly those of the Global South,” the document, published by the Government of Brazil, states. BRICS leaders pay particular attention not only to the opportunities of AI but also to the risks associated with its rapid development. The group advocates for the creation of international standards focused on trust, compatibility and neural network security.

“Brazil’s previous BRICS chairmanship was under the motto ‘BRICS: Economic Growth for an Innovative Future’. In 2025, it appears that the innovative future and the widespread adoption of AI are no longer viewed so optimistically and may pose a threat to national sovereignty and economic growth in BRICS countries,” notes Tural Natig ogly Mamedov, Candidate of Sciences in Economics at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, in an interview with TV BRICS.

These concerns, experts say, are confirmed by statements on global governance in AI. Particularly considering that China had previously presented its vision for regulating neural networks internationally and emphasised that AI must not be turned into an economic or information weapon.

Socially determined diseases

Combating socially determined diseases, poverty, and deprivation remains a key priority for Brazil. It is therefore unsurprising that in 2025, BRICS countries, under Brazil’s chairmanship, actively addressed these issues. The initiative focuses on tackling poverty-related, socially vulnerable and inequality-driven diseases, with an emphasis on prevention and strengthening public healthcare systems. “This theme was the leitmotif of the 2024 G20 Summit held in Brazil. Such ‘migration’ of topics to the G20 level demonstrates that BRICS’ role in the global community is growing; moreover, it is becoming coordinated at the level of the entire world community,” Victoria Perskaya notes in an interview with TV BRICS.

Other areas

Among other areas actively promoted during Brazil’s Chairmanship, Professor Daniel Barreiros of the Institute of Economics, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, highlights:

• a call for comprehensive reform of international institutions, including the UN Security Council, to increase representation of African, Asian and Latin American countries;
• specific calls for redistribution of shares in the World Bank and IMF quota reform to reflect the economic position of developing economies;
• promotion of an alternative financial architecture, including the BRICS initiative for cross-border payments to improve system interoperability and the expansion of local currency financing through the New Development Bank.

Challenges and difficulties

Brazil’s main goal during its chairmanship was to achieve maximum results in coordinating the interaction of all member states. This was accomplished, despite many experts considering this one of the most difficult tasks at BRICS’ current stage.

“The key challenges of the group remain unchanged: varying levels of socio-economic development among members, especially following BRICS+ expansion in 2023, and technical difficulties related to the informal nature of the group. Nevertheless, the primary issue BRICS countries faced in 2025 was coordinating the positions of its different member states,” says Fedor Arzhaev, Candidate of Economic Sciences and Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for International Economic Relations Research, Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, in an interview with TV BRICS.

Disagreements primarily concerned the admission of new members. Brazil, as BRICS chair in 2025, needed to help the new member, Indonesia, quickly adapt and integrate into all processes. “These challenges are more technical, requiring alignment, rather than constituting a global problem,” notes Mikhail Khachaturyan in an interview with TV BRICS. He considers Indonesia’s accession to BRICS to have been largely smooth. However, more time will be needed for the full integration of the new member into the governance mechanisms. During Brazil’s chairmanship, all necessary conditions and decisions to ensure Indonesia’s effective participation in BRICS were created and implemented.

Prospects for India’s chairmanship in 2026

Overall, summing up Brazil’s 2025 BRICS chairmanship, it can be said that the country focused on institutional building. “This approach preserved internal cohesion among the diverse, expanded membership. Analysts have called this a ‘quiet success’ and a sign of the group’s maturity,” concludes Professor Daniel Barreiros.

India will continue this line when it assumes the BRICS chairmanship on 1 January 2026, taking over from Brazil. India will host the 18th BRICS Summit.

“During India’s chairmanship, the focus is highly likely to shift to poverty alleviation, access to healthcare, and raising living standards, which are pressing issues for India. A significant part of India’s chairmanship will also be devoted to reforming global governance institutions and exploring new instruments to shape the global balance of power and interests, including within BRICS,” says Victoria Perskaya.

Experts also note that in 2026, financial cooperation, BRICS payment systems and the role of the New Development Bank will be further developed. However, perhaps the most interesting initiative could be the promotion of digital public infrastructure as a scalable development model for Global South countries, according to Daniel Barreiros. The basis could be India’s “India Stack” – a multi-layer system of open APIs for digital identification, payments and data management. This does not imply exporting an exact copy of the system but rather promoting an open architecture model in Global South countries. Whether and how this will be implemented remains to be seen, experts say. They emphasise that a comprehensive platform already exists, enabling the groupnot just to maintain cohesion but also to enhance influence and technology internally.

Article prepared by Svetlana Khristoforova. African Times published this article in partnership with International Media Network TV BRICS